The Joseph Slifka Middle School
— Grades 6-8

Lori Skopp, Middle School Head
Phone: 212-595-7817, ext. 534

Rabbi Dov Lerea, Dean of Judaic Studies
Phone: 212-595-7817, ext. 520
 
The Joseph Slifka Middle School helps children make the transition from elementary to high school and from pre-adolescence to adolescence. Recognizing that Middle School students must learn to balance peer pressure with individualism and the desire for nurturing with the excitement of independence, Heschel establishes a setting that supports their growing autonomy while providing the structure necessary to make their school experience meaningful and productive. Their interest in socializing finds outlets in community activities; their need to reflect, criticize and debate is met through school publications and forums as well as in the classroom; their desire to compete and perform is realized through sports, musical performances and theater productions.

Middle School students use basic skills to acquire information that gives them a solid foundation in all of the disciplines. We provide a grounding in research and thinking skills and require students to use higher level processes to select, research, analyze and interpret topics presented in the classroom.

The Middle School program emphasizes not only intellectual growth but also the social, emotional, moral, aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of development. A student government, allows students to engage the school’s administration and staff in a dialogue on many issues, enhancing the quality of life at Heschel. The Middle School develops and maintains several community service projects. An activities program offers diverse choices ranging from crafts to a student-run newspaper. In addition, students participate in a Human Growth and Development program coordinated by the school psychologist. Meeting in small groups with a faculty member several times each week, students discuss their lives and the life of the community.

Academics
English Language Arts- The English Language Arts program emphasizes text analysis and thinking skills. Reading, writing, researching and thinking activities enhance and support each other as students explore and analyze literature. We often combine language arts and social studies to create broad humanities units. The "writing process" philosophy guides the writing program. Students learn to write by writing, receiving and giving feedback, revising, and rewriting. Research is a part of the writing program.

Speaking and listening skills are important elements of the program. Expressive reading and dramatization allow students to explore the aesthetic dimensions of language and literature while they enhance comprehension.
 
Mathematics- The Mathematics Program uses manipulative materials, calculators, computer programs and cooperative learning to introduce and reinforce new concepts and skills. Starting in the seventh grade, students use a pre-algebra text to explore mathematical topics in more depth and abstraction.
Eighth grade algebra incorporates basic topics with introductory work in logic, geometry (solid plane, coordinate and transformational), advanced probability and statistics. The mathematics program emphasizes real-world applications, problem-solving strategies, communication and critical thinking.
 
Social Studies-The Middle School Social Studies program builds on the foundation established in the fifth grade. Children study history, geography, economics and current political events, using original source material wherever possible. We enrich the program by integrating Jewish history and culture throughout.

Language arts and social studies teachers collaborate to teach research skills at each grade level. Research allows students to pursue their individual interests within the framework of the program.

Middle School social studies units include: Middle Eastern Geography; Egypt; Greece; Colonial America; The American Revolution and the Birth of the Constitution; the Civil War and Reconstruction; The Age of Immigration/Family and Personal Histories; enlightenment/Zionist History/The Holocaust; Great American Trials of the 20th Century/The Constitution Revisited; and Current Events.

Science-The Middle School Science Program is a laboratory-based, experiential, hands-on program. The sixth grade science units concentrate on human physiology magnetism, rocks and minerals. Seventh grade students study microbiology, cells, protozoa and crayfish, the physics of motion, forces, forces in fluids,
power, simple machines and conservation of energy. Eighth graders take an advanced course in human physiology and study light physics, chemistry and electricity.
 
Jewish Studies
The Jewish Studies program in the Middle School emphasizes text study and continues to strengthen Hebrew language skills while applying them to increasingly sophisticated issues of Jewish thought and belief. We encourage Middle School students to make the language and concerns of Jewish tradition their own. Using Hebrew as the primary language of instruction, faculty provide opportunities for students to interpret and apply their understanding of sacred and literary texts in art, drama, song, and community experiences and to explore issues of personal identity, group interaction, moral responsibility and religious sensitivity.

Torah Sheb’al Peh (Rabbinic Tradition of Oral Torah)
At this level, the study of Torah Sheb’al Peh examines classic rabbinic and Jewish legal texts in the context of contemporary society, emphasizing the applicability of the Tradition to the students’ lives. T’fillah (Prayer) emphasizes the relationship between understanding and motivation. We teach students to recite the classical morning service and prepare them to lead daily services and a Torah service on Mondays and Thursdays with integrity vested with personal meaning.

The Hebrew language program continues to reinforce Hebrew grammar and composition, while it introduces students to a serious analysis of contemporary Hebrew literature.

We study the Bible for historical, cultural and religious reasons. From post-Biblical times to the present, the Jewish people have used the study of Bible to organize and understand their experiences. Our Middle School students continue their study of Tanakh (Bible) in greater depth, concentrating on the first half of the Book of Exodus, selections from the Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, First Prophets and selections from Rashi, the classic eleventh century biblical commentator.
 
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Since we believe that becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is a significant event in the life of the Middle School student, Bar/Bat Mitzvah study is incorporated into the sixth and seventh grade program.

The overarching theme of the program, Jewish identity, is taught in the context of different subjects: Torah Sheb’al Peh, in which the study of classical rabbinic texts provides students with opportunities to explore the Jewish ritual/ethical behaviors called mitzvot; Human Growth and Development, where students discuss and clarify personal, ethical and behavioral standards; Hebrew language arts, where students read literature about the people and land of Israel; and social studies, where students do primary source research into their own family backgrounds. We bring these strands of study together in a class tzedakah (charitable deeds) project.
Students have the opportunity to celebrate becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah with their families during Middle School t’fillot.

Human Growth and Development
HG&D, as it is known throughout the School, engages students in problem solving activities and discussions based on themes important to this stage of development and interpersonal issues that often arise in the life of the classroom. Students bring issues they need to talk about to HG&D. Themes covered during the three years of middle school include: physical development and sexuality; the nature of friendship and responsibility, independence and dependence; responses to making mistakes, peer pressure and becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah; gender roles, conflict resolution and negotiation.

The Arts
Art, music and theater are key curricular components at Heschel and integral parts of both the Judaic and General Studies Programs. Art, music and theater specialists work closely with classroom teachers to inform and enhance classroom activities.
 
Art
Heschel’s art program encourages children to express their ideas and feelings visually. The curriculum supports the stages of children’s artistic development.

Through exploration of materials, young children learn to organize, arrange and build shapes, and to use colors that become symbols of expression. These early art experiences under-lay increasingly complex subject matter.

Throughout the year, children explore a variety of materials and techniques, including paint, clay, collage, drawing and construction. We introduce new materials and techniques as skills develop. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where they feel free to express themselves and take risks. Museum trips and studies of artists’ work enhance the program.

Music
The Heschel School music program gives students the benefit of musical instruction at an important and impressionable time in their lives. We emphasize musical skills, achieving musical literacy and familiarity with a variety of musical forms, both secular and Judaic. We incorporate audio/visual technology, acoustic and electronic instruments, textbooks and song sheets, guest performers and class trips into the music program.

The formal music instruction program includes singing English and Hebrew songs, learning harmony and choral singing and engaging in tonal and rhythm activities. Students study music history, the music of different cultures, the instruments of the orchestra and the symphonic repertoire. Informal activities such as class or grade "sings" and learning songs connected to classroom themes abound.

All sixth and seventh grade classes will perform as choral groups at least once during the year, in order to provide each student with the opportunity to practice and perform their choral skills. In the past, Heschel has performed in film and on television, we have sung at baseball games and City Hall by invitation of the Mayor, and recently, we participated in the Holocaust commemoration of the museum of Jewish Heritage.
 
Theater
Theatrical arts are an important aspect of the curriculum. Students have the opportunity to write and perform dramatic presentations for each other and for parents. Productions, in both Hebrew and English, frequently consist of the children’s own words. The eighth grade performs a full-scale production of a Shakespeare play with professional lights and costumes.

Physical Education
The physical education curriculum is centered on a comprehensive program of health related fitness designed to engage students in both the physical and educational components of Physical Education, as well as to provide each individual with the means of recognizing and maximizing their own personal fitness level. The physical aspect of the program aims at imparting basic skills at age appropriate levels of ability, allowing the students to perform a variety of physical activities safely and successfully.

Educationally, the program aspires to both teach and inspire the students to take an active interest in their own health and well being. In so far as sports and game play are an integral part of the Physical Education curriculum, the teaching of and appreciation of sportsmanship and fair play is paramount.

Computers
Heschel students use computers as a learning tool within the overall curriculum. Heschel utilizes iMac computers with networking capabilities that allow classes to share resources. Computer activities introduce students to the fundamentals of the machine and enrich classroom studies.

Technology can add new dimensions to children’s learning and thinking. For example, in language arts, social studies and science, multimedia software programs enhance the writing process. Through databases, spreadsheets and graphics programs, students learn to organize and view information differently.